Temporary Roadworks on the Soufrière Road
It is 08:40 on a weekday and you are driving the Castries–Soufrière road towards Soufrière with two passengers. Just past a blind left-hand bend you meet roadworks: a temporary yellow ROAD WORKS AHEAD sign, then a red-and-white barrier that closes your side of the carriageway and narrows the road to a single lane about 30 metres long. A worker in a high-visibility vest holds a STOP/GO board showing GO and waves you on. A tipper truck is already inside the single lane, coming towards you. The centre line has not been repainted around the works, so the old solid white line still runs straight through them. A minibus is tailgating you, no more than one car length back. A 15 mph temporary limit sign stands at the barrier. Overnight rain has left loose gravel and a shallow puddle across the lane, and the low morning sun is directly behind you.
1. The worker's board shows GO, the truck is already in the gap, and the minibus is close behind. What do you do, and which of those three actually governs your next action?
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They are not equal. A person controlling traffic at roadworks must be obeyed, but GO means 'the works are ready for you', not 'the lane is clear'. It gives you permission to proceed only when it is safe, and the lane is already occupied by the truck. The solid white line still means no crossing and no overtaking; you cannot use it to justify squeezing forward into an occupied gap. The minibus is not a control at all - pressure from behind never creates a right of way and never reduces your duty to stop.
So: ease off early rather than braking late, apply the brakes progressively so the tailgater sees your brake lights, and if you must stop sharply, hold the pedal down and switch on your hazard lights briefly to warn him. Stop short of the barrier with your wheels straight and your handbrake on, and wait until the truck is completely clear of the lane before moving.
2. The truck clears. Describe the line and speed you use through the single lane, and name the specific hazards you are watching for.
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Enter only at walking pace - well under the posted 15 mph - and keep left, but no more than necessary; hugging the barrier gives you nowhere to go if something surprises you.
Specific hazards, in order of likelihood:
- The marshal on foot: give him at least 1.5–2 metres and expect him to step out to reposition the board. Never assume he has seen you.
- Gravel and the puddle: grip is reduced and you do not know the puddle's depth. Do not brake or steer sharply on the gravel; slow down before you reach it, not on it.
- The truck itself: mirrors, or a load overhanging the side, may intrude into your half even when the body seems clear.
- The exit: check it is clear before you commit, because there is no room to pass inside the lane.
Where the surface is poor, a low gear at a steady crawl is safer than balancing the clutch.
3. A hundred metres after the works, the minibus is still glued to your bumper and flashes its lights. How do you handle it?
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The safest response is to remove the situation rather than win it. Brake-checking him, speeding up, or gesturing will either cause a collision or drag you into a speed you did not choose on a wet, gravel-strewn road.
Instead: keep your own speed steady and legal, and increase the gap ahead of you so that any braking you need can be gentle and progressive. That protects you from him and protects him from you. If he continues to sit a car length back, look for a safe, legal place to pull over - a wide verge or a lay-by with good visibility - indicate early, slow gradually and let him pass. Do not wave him past where the road is narrow or the view is blind; if he overtakes badly, ease off and let him go rather than racing him for the same piece of road.
Being tailgated is the other driver's offence, but managing the consequences is your job.